Thursday, December 20, 2012

When the Wind Blows in the Desert

These pictures look like they are taken in sepia, but they are untouched and straight out of the camera with a bit of cropping:

Yesterday we had 65-75 mph sustained winds. All. Cotton. Pickin. Day.

I am so glad I didn't clean the house on Tuesday. This old, leaky ranch house is covered in grit. Every windowsill. Every floor. Every bookshelf. Covered in lovely, grit. LOL.

We have been trying to gather estimates for a new roof. No one wants to drive clear out here, but we have two. Yesterday, I was certain the roof was going to go. Don't laugh. It has happened before. I have the picture to prove it
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I get tired of picking these up and I imagine DH gets tired of patching the roof. One of my favorite sounds in the world is rain on a tin roof, but even tin roofs aren't wind proof as you can see.

I've read quite a bit about the dust bowl. We had just a taste of it yesterday and it doesn't taste so good. I went to help DH out at the barn yesterday and ICK! Instant sand blasting. Don't women pay for facials with gritty stuff in it? Ha! I got mine for free, but gritty teeth are not so much fun.

This kind of wind just wears a body out. DH was out in it all day long. I logged in maybe 1 hour in it and that was 1 hour too long. Honestly, last night we just sat and looked at each other in a weary, defeated sort of way.

Will you think I am crazy if I say that even after days like this, I love my life? I do!

Our daughter's cat stayed with us when she ran away to college, and he wanted out yesterday. Just threw a fit so I let him out. He goes out during the day anyway. Wish I had a video camera because the wind just rolled him across the yard and he is no small cat. He is white and fluffy and he gave me a disgruntled look when I let him back in and told him, "I told you so." I swear he even gave me a tail flip. DH thought I had lost it. I told him it was only a temporary insanity.

12 comments:

Oh my goodness Karin! That doesn't look/sound like fun at all. We are expecting gusts up to 48mph, and that is bad enough. I can't imagine it as high as you got. Hope you don't loose your roof again ;)

Oh Karin, what a day. I KNOW since I was in it too. We drove from Ruidoso to El Paso in that wind. Sometimes it was so bad that we had to slow waaaayyyyy down because the visibility on the road was so bad you could barely see the cars ahead of you. Finally got to El Paso and our house, just like yours, is now full of dust. Terrible. Today though, the air is clear and skies are blue but its COLD. Have a Merry Christmas and enjoy the season.

Karin I had to laugh at the vision of the cat rolling across the yard! LOL! We were supposed to get a really bad windstorm too - but for some reason everywhere around us got it, but not us thank goodness! Our roof is on it's last legs too, so glad we didn't!

The wind was terrible here in Central Texas too, but thankfully this isn't a dusty area. It was so bad around Lubbock! Having driven through West Texas and Eastern New Mexico in November I can understand why! I'm thankful we didn't lose any more trees here, though, and no roof damage that I know of.

The cat story is funny! :-) Our cat hates wind. The first day we let her outside was a very windy day. She really wanted out, but she was, well, as jumpy as a cat. :-)

We get wind like that and dust storms in Australia too. Wind makes me grumpy! I know the feeling of the sandblasted face, brown teeth and eyes and ears full of dirt. Yuk! Luckily it's not that bad too often.

About Me

Living life at the end of the dirt road is a joy and the blessings are many. My husband and I have been married for 30 years and we have two great kids ~ our son is 26, serving our country as a Marine, and our daughter is 23, working on her Ruminant Nutrition graduate degree..So proud of both of them! The good Lord has blessed us with an amazing life! We ranch on 128,000 acres and there is never a dull moment. I am chief cook, bottle washer, gate opener, and retired homeschool Mama. I love the Lord, photography, gardening, quilting,tending to cattle & horses and helping DH in any capacity I can, as well as feeding everyone that wonders down the dirt road.
So welcome to life at the end of the dirt road ~ I hope you enjoy the visit!